ASHBURN, Va.—Maybe it’s best to start with the car. It explains Washington Redskins running back Alfred Morris, his thought process and what matters to him. So we’ll start there.

The NFL’s third-leading rusher drives a 1991 Mazda 626 that he purchased as a senior at Florida Atlantic. He was a future late-round pick and he knew it. Waiting to buy something snazzier with bonus money wasn’t an option.

Now that he has the money, Morris isn’t about to trade in his wheels for something that fits in better in an NFL players' parking lot. The car serves as a reminder. Perhaps also a symbol of his status, a sixth-round pick just trying to win a job.

“When you work hard for something and finally get it, it means much more to you so you cherish it,” Morris said. “That has sentimental value to me and I don’t ever plan on getting rid of it. ... I earned that car, that’s why I appreciate it and cherish it.”

Then there’s his language. It reveals yet another side, one that has helped his NFL journey—and one that reveals his humility. It’s a little thing. When on Twitter, it’s common to see the expression LMAO. Which, if you didn’t know, stands for Laughing My Ass Off. When Morris finds something funny, he changes it too this: LMBO, or Laughing My Butt Off.

“I try my best not to use profanity,” he said. “It’s a personal choice.”

It’s all part of the Alfred Morris story, one that is playing quite well in Washington these days. While fellow rookie Robert Griffin III—you may have heard of him—has revived this franchise, there’s no doubt he’s had help from Morris.

Through eight games, Morris’ 717 rushing yards trails only Marshawn Lynch and Adrian Peterson, who is first with 775 yards.

Because Morris is a sixth-round pick, he invites comparisons to another guy who once played for coach Mike Shanahan after being drafted in the same round: former Denver great Terrell Davis.

Even the Redskins won’t shy away from putting both in the same sentence.

There’s an assumption that Davis was faster, but that’s not the case. Morris ran a 4.68 in the 40-yard dash at the Scouting Combine. Davis’ time at the 1995 Combine was 4.72 seconds. That speed, plus playing for a bad team at FAU and a lack of production in the passing game, caused Morris to tumble in the draft. The scouting reports suggested he lacked elusiveness.

Mike Shanahan noticed enough to draft him.

“You could definitely see some big-time skill running the football. You’re never really sure until they come out how they’re going to be,” Shanahan said.

The scouting reports have now changed.

“[Morris] can put his foot in the ground and accelerate out of it and actually run faster out of the cut than he did going into it,” Redskins offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan said. “For a lot of those fast guys, it’s like playing on ice sometimes because it takes them a while to stop and then re-situate their hips and then get going again. Al is very similar to Terrell Davis in that way.”

Meanwhile, Mike Shanahan recently said Morris reminded him of another one of his backs. He didn’t say who. It was assumed.

“He’s got a big-time future,” Shanahan said.

All of it is heady stuff for Morris.

“Just like [Coach Shanahan] saw something in Terrell Davis and drafted him in the late rounds, he saw the same thing in me,” Morris said. “It’s an honor [for them] to think of me in the same thought as Terrell Davis. I’m definitely going to continue to work hard each and every day so maybe one day I can be as great as Terrell Davis.”

Morris compensates for his speed with brains, vision and quick feet. During a 24-17 loss over Atlanta, for example, Morris said he noticed that linebacker Sean Weatherspoon wasn’t aggressive coming upfield and instead tried to get wide. So on an outside zone to the right, Morris set him up accordingly. He pressed the outside enough to widen Weatherspoon, then cut back inside en route to 29 yards.

Morris’ patience and quick feet were exhibited in a 39-yard touchdown run against Tampa Bay. Morris pressed the hole to the right, causing the backside linebackers to drift inside. That enabled blockers to seal them off so when he cut back all he had to do was break an arm tackle from corner Eric Wright on his way to the end zone.

Morris knows he can’t cut to the hole too soon, even if he sees it opening.

“You’ll get no gain or a couple yards, but if you press it just long enough to get them out of the way you’ll get a bigger run,” Morris said.

He no doubt benefits from the zone-read action, thanks to Griffin. There have been numerous times when Morris gets the ball, but linebackers or ends are out of position as they eye Griffin.

“It helps a lot,” Morris said. “It takes pressure off the run game they don’t know who will get the ball so they can’t key on one person.”

But Griffin benefits from having Morris, a legitimate run threat. Defenses can’t just key on Griffin because they now know Morris can hurt them. So they must honor the zone read fakes, whether it helps Griffin run or, more likely, hit an open target downfield—over the head of where the linebacker is supposed to be.

“He is a big, strong, North and South runner, one-cut guy,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said of Morris before their Week 5 matchup. “He’s hard to tackle. I’ve been impressed with his speed when he gets to the second level. He’s got enough size when he gets there that he’s going to create some issues for the defensive backs.”

That’s why the Redskins are optimistic that Morris is off to a feel-good career.

“He can make the first person miss, which a lot of people can’t do,” Mike Shanahan said. “He’s extremely tough. He’s very smart—no nonsense type mindset that he’s going to go out there and try to prove himself every week. He’s just a pleasure to be around. He’s one of those type of guys that you love to cheer for because he’s all business.”

There’s one more part to the Morris tale. The home run swat he performs is a tribute to a traveling baseball team he befriended this summer while living in a hotel. He played with them in the pool and told them he’d mimic a home run swing if he scored.

Griffin, too, has an engaging personality. But Morris is the everyman, an underdog who never quite had it easy.

“I could have gave up a long time ago,” Morris said. “I could have gave up so many different times, but I didn’t. I’m glad I kept pushing and fighting through to get to this point.”